Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Parq Vancouver | The Douglas Hotel

I recently attended a L'Oreal Luxe event at The Douglas Hotel in Downtown Vancouver and was lucky enough to be invited back to experience a night there at one of the hotel guest rooms. Since it was my birthday last weekend, I graciously accepted the invitation and booked a room for a night. Located at the newly-opened Parq Vancouver, The Douglas is a five-star Autograph Collection boutique hotel offering a modern, eclectic west coast aesthetic. It's a part of a mixed-use development that also houses a two-level casino and eight different restaurants. To read about my experience at the hotel, click.......

The Douglas Vancouver Hotel | D/6 Bar & Lounge

Located between the seventh and 17th floor of Parq Vancouver, The Douglas Hotel is a 5-star boutique hotel featuring 178 guest rooms and ten luxury suites. The lobby front desk has a full-sized douglas fir replica encased in glass while the adjacent D/6 Bar & Lounge offers live entertainment and handcrafted cocktails. With its earthy color palette and modern furniture and decor elements, The Douglas lobby is arguably one of the most beautiful spaces I've visited.

We had the pleasure of spending the night at the Standard King Room, a fairly spacious 340 square feet guest room featuring a king-sized pillow top mattress, floor-to-ceiling windows, a writing desk, and a cozy sitting area overlooking the Vancouver cityscape. Similar to the lobby, the guest room provides a very modern, natural vibe. There was a large wooden headboard behind the bed and various wooden furniture were tastefully arranged throughout the room. The king-sized mattress was super cozy and comfortable but the pillows were a bit lackluster. As I've said many times before in my hotel reviews, I take my sleeping amenities very seriously and unfortunately, the pillows at The Douglas were the kind that deflates over time, providing minimal cushioning and support.

The Douglas Vancouver Hotel | Standard King Room

The Douglas Vancouver Hotel | Sitting Area

In addition to the stylish sitting area and the practical writing desk, the room had a large flat screen TV where you can easily access your Netflix account and catch up on your favorite TV series. One thing that was noticeably missing was a mini fridge. Whenever I travel or dine out, I usually end up bringing some snacks or leftovers back to the hotel room so the lack of a refrigerated storage space was definitely an inconvenience.

The Douglas Vancouver Hotel | King Bed

The Douglas Vancouver Hotel | Bathroom

Inside the brightly-lit and marble-lined bathroom was a large walk-in shower equipped with an overhead rainfall style shower head. The Douglas provided toiletries from Aesop. As a beauty blogger who loves luxury bath and body products, I was pretty impressed. Large, over-sized cotton bathrobes were available and a magnifying vanity mirror was handy for makeup application. The overall bathroom design was practical and stunning but I was a little let down with the weak water pressure from the sink faucet and the lack of an extendable shower head inside the walk-in.

The Douglas Vancouver Hotel | Aesop Toiletries

Because we only stayed at The Douglas for one night, we didn't interact a whole lot with the hotel staff. However, the front-desk was very friendly and polite and all the housekeeping staff greeted us with smiles in the hallways. Because it was my birthday that weekend, room-service even brought up a slice of chocolate cake to help me celebrate and it was actually really decadent and moist! There was probably a little mix-up, though, as the cake read "Happy Anniversary". But hey, I'm not complaining!

The Douglas Vancouver Hotel | Surprise Chocolate Cake

The Douglas shares various amenities with the adjacent JW Marriot Hotel within the Parq Vancouver development. There is a large fitness center, an outdoor whirlpool (which was unfortunately closed during our visit), and a luxury spa. Additionally, there are eight restaurants and a two-level casino within the building so in a way, Parq Vancouver is kind of an urban resort located right in the heart of the Downtown Vancouver. I dined at Honey Salt and it was just lovely. I'll be sharing my experience in a separate blog post so keep an eye out for that if you are interested!
Overall, The Douglas is a beautiful hotel with a great location! If you are going to BC Place or Rogers Arena for a special event or just touring the city on vacation, definitely book a stay for a luxurious and memorable experience.